1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compression part for a medical compression apparatus with access openings to a compressed or fixed body part. The invention also relates to a medical compression apparatus for the compression or fixing of a body part.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A medical compression and biopsy apparatus of the general type described above, having a compression part of the type described above, is known from German PS 44 42 609 corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,405. The compression and biopsy apparatus specified therein is fashioned as a stereotactic auxiliary means for conducting--guided by a sectional image--a biopsy of a female breast. This known apparatus has two compression parts, arranged movably in relation to one another, for fixing the breast therebetween. The compression parts are fashioned as compression plates in which through-holes are arranged that enable a guided access of a biopsy needle to the breast. The precision of the biopsy, however, is limited by the fixed, grid-like arrangement of the through-holes in the compression plate.
A further compression apparatus is known from German PS 42 25 001, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,549, in which the compression plates are movably arranged on a mount in the form of a bar, and can be secured at respective locations along the length of the bar since the bar is made of round material, by pivoting the compression plates the aforementioned precision problem could be solved. Pivoting of the plates is possible only in the non-compressed state. The danger of a change in position of the target area thus exists.
In addition, since the through-holes have only a small diameter due to their guide characteristics, cleaning and sterilization of the compression plates for repeated uses is expensive.